Resources: Sustainable Affordable Housing

Our Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative supports local affordable housing providers – including municipal, not-for-profit organizations and housing co-ops – to retrofit existing affordable housing units, or construct energy efficient new builds that emit lower greenhouse gas emissions. 

This list of curated resources provides useful information on your affordable housing retrofit or new build project. It is focused on the different project stages including: discovery; planning; study; pilot and capital projects; and operations and maintenance. Learn more about:

• the most effective and energy efficient methods to make buildings more sustainable; 
• various operations and maintenance recommendations for efficient buildings;
• the steps required to begin the retrofit of an existing multi-unit residential building; 
• how to select different energy efficient technologies for your housing project;  
• energy efficient methods to make buildings more sustainable; 
• and much more. 

We will continue to update this page with additional resources as they become available.

Please note: all files appear in the language in which they were provided, and are organized by category: retrofit, retrofit and new build and new build.  

Stage 1: Discovery

• Retrofit: Research insights, Comprehensive retrofit of an existing multi-unit residential building (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• Retrofit: Case study, Robert Cooke co-op case study: A TowerWise retrofit project (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF])
• Retrofit and new build: Guide, Green building guide to energy efficiency and renewable energy (Green Building Canada)
• Retrofit and new build: Factsheet, Sustainable Affordable Housing factsheet series: Why undertake energy-efficient retrofits  (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• Retrofit and new build: Webinar recording, Meeting Canada’s net-zero energy targets while reducing energy poverty: Affordable Housing’s role in solving this dual challenge (Canadian Housing and Renewal Association [CHRA])
• New Build: Case Study, The heights: Multi-unit residential passive house (ZEBx)
• Retrofit and new build: Energy Facts Book (Natural Resources Canada)
• Retrofit: Video, good practices in sustainability (Home Run)
• Retrofit: Video, CHMC’s Green Housing videos (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• Retrofit and new build: Energy Start multi family housing resources (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofit: Total Energy Use Intensity TEUI Calculator (Ontario Association of Architects)
• New Build: Low Carbon Energy Systems (ZEBx’s Net-Zero Energy-Ready Playbook Series)
• Retrofit: Steps for Creating and Implementing an Energy Management Plan – Housing Services Corp (hscorp.ca) (Housing Services Corporation [HSC])
• Retrofit and New Build: A Window into Energy Efficiency – Housing Services Corp (hscorp.ca) (Housing Services Corporation [HSC])
• Retrofit and New Build: Understanding Energy Efficiency: A guide for affordable housing providers (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• Retrofit: Heritage Buildings 104: Rebuilding the Retrofit Industry (NAIMA Canada)
• Retrofit and New Build: Ground Source Heat Pumps: A Sustainable and Efficient Alternative in HVAC (cove.tools)
• Retrofit and New Builds: What is Embodied Carbon? Understanding its Impact on the Built Environment (cove.tools)

Stage 2: Planning

• Retrofit and new build: Guide, 2020 Hiring + Working with development consultants guide (BC Non-profit Housing Association [BCNPHA])
• Retrofit and new build: Guide, A guide for the selection for energy efficient technologies (Saskatchewan Energy Management Task Forces)
• Retrofit and new build: Guide, Keeping the heat in (Natural Resources Canada)
• Retrofit and new build: Literature review, case studies, annotated bibliography, Passive approaches to low-energy affordable housing (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• Retrofit: Factsheet, Sustainable Affordable Housing factsheet series: Developing a business case for an energy-efficient retrofit (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• New build: Factsheet, Sustainable Affordable Housing factsheet series: Planning high-performance affordable housing (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• New build: Factsheet, Sustainable Affordable Housing factsheet series: Why build high-performance affordable housing? (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• Retrofit: Report, The Case for Deep Retrofits (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF])
• Retrofit: Webinar recording, Getting Started: Preparing for your energy retrofit with a rock-solid plan (Canadian Housing and Renewal Association [CHRA])
• New Build: Case study: Consultation and innovation improves performance (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• Retrofit: Q&A on Energy Audits (The Agency for Co-operative Housing)
• Retrofit: Factsheet, Top 5 Energy Saving measures for housing Co-ops (The Agency for Co-operative Housing)
• Retrofit: Energy Star Checklist of Energy-Saving Measures, including energy-saving measures that can be implemented at no or low cost, or with rapid payback (ENERGY STAR©) 
• Retrofit: Energy Star Checklist of Energy-Saving Measures, including energy-saving measures that can be implemented at no or low cost, or with rapid payback (ENERGY STAR©)
• New Build: Planning for High-Performance Buildings (ZEBx’s Net-Zero Energy-Ready Playbook Series)
• Retrofit: Guide to Building Condition Assessments and Reserve Fund Studies (The Agency for Co-operative Housing)

Stage 3: Study

• Retrofit and new build: Infographic, Achieving high-performance multi-unit residential buildings: The opportunities (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• Retrofit and new build: Calculators, Calculate returns on energy efficiency investments (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofit and new build: Identification of best practices in Northern MURBs (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• Retrofit: Sidewalk Labs Toronto multi-Unit residential buildings study: Energy use and the performance gap (Sidewalk Labs, Urban Equation / EQ Building Performance)
• Retrofit: Sustainable Affordable Housing factsheet series: How to undertake deep energy retrofits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• Retrofit: Pre-Energy Audit Document Checklist – Housing Services Corp (hscorp.ca) (Housing Services Corporation [HSC])
• Retrofit and New Build: Thermal Bridges — A Path to Energy Waste – Housing Services Corp (hscorp.ca) (Housing Services Corporation [HSC])

Stage 4: Pilot and capital projects

• Retrofit and new build: A developer's guide to passive house buildings (Passive House Canada)
• Retrofit: A guide to retrofitting electrically-heated multi-family dwellings in Ontario with heat pumps (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF])
• Retrofit and new build: Air leakage control manual for existing multi-unit residential buildings (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CHMC])
• New build: BC Energy step code design guide (BC Housing)
• Retrofit and new build: Smart thermostats: Technology assessment and field test findings in multi-unit residential buildings (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF])
• New build: Step-by-step guide to building affordable housing (Sustainable Housing Initiative [SHI])
• Retrofit and new build: The City of Toronto zero emissions buildings framework (City of Toronto)
• Retrofit and new build: US DOE Guide to energy efficient windows (U.S. Department of Energy)
• Retrofit and new build: Ventilation Strategies for High-performance Multi-unit Residential Buildings (ZEBx)
• Retrofit: A Field Guide to Retrofits in Occupied Buildings (Tower Renewal Partnership)
• Retrofit: Lessons from a heat pump retrofit at Walpole Ave: a case study (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF])
• Retrofit: Case study: Energy retrofit delivers multiple benefits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• Retrofit and new build: Toolkit for air source heat pump sizing and selection (Natural Resources Canada)
• New Build: Ventilation Strategies for High-Performance Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (ZEBx)
• Retrofit: Decarbonization Roadmap for Multifamily Affordable Housing - Building Energy Exchange (be-exchange.org)

Stage 5: Operations and maintenance

• Retrofit: Energy Star: Checklists of energy-saving measures (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofit and new build: Green building operations and maintenance manual - A guide for public housing authorities (Green Seal, Inc. and Siemens Industry, Inc.)
• Retrofit: Operation and maintenance best practices for energy-efficient buildings (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofit and new build: Integrating Energy Conservation Into Your Asset Management Practices with FCM's Green Municipal Fund (Canadian Housing and Renewal Association [CHRA])
• Retrofit: Operations Manual for Owners and Managers of Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CHMC])
• Retrofits and New Builds: Electrical Maintenance in Residential Buildings – Housing Services Corp (hscorp.ca) (Housing Services Corporation [HSC])
• Retrofit: E-learning course: Building Operators Training (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)

Case studies

• New Build: Low-energy buildings - Bois Ellen Coop case study (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CHMC])
• Retrofit: Woodgreen Wraps up Starting Phase of a First-Of-Its-Kind Retrofit Project At Eight Of Its Buildings (Woodgreen)
• Retrofit: Case study: Raising the bar on community housing retrofits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• New Build: Case study: New build achieves financial sustainability, social and environmental benefits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• Retrofit: Video: 1,500 Toronto residents benefit from retrofit initiative | Federation of Canadian Municipalities (fcm.ca) (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• New build: Video: 5 keys for sustainable social housing success | Green Municipal Fund  (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)

Engaging residents in energy efficiency projects

• Retrofit: Toolkit, Sustainability at home: A toolkit for your Co-op.(The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada)
• Retrofit and New Build: Energy Star Activity Kits (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofits: energy saving competitions guide (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofit: Guide, A Field Guide to Retrofits in Occupied Buildings (Tower Renewal Partnership)
• Retrofit: Case study: Brownfield redevelopment incorporates affordable housing Opens in a new tab. (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• Retrofit: Engaging Residents for Deep Retrofit Success (Efficiency Capital)
• Retrofit: Energy-saving tips and how-to videos (FORTIS BC)
• Retrofit: ACORN-Tenant-Engagement-Report-Retrofits-1_0.pdf (acorncanada.org)
• Retrofit: retrofit-tenants-case-study-2020.pdf (pembina.org)